Buttenwiesen-Pfaffenhofen, 11 August 2011 – SURTECO SE succeeded in continuing to expand its market position during the first half year and generated sales amounting to € 211.6 million. This corresponds to an increase of 11 % or € 20.5 million compared with the equivalent year-earlier period. Catch-up effects and acquisitions by the Strategic Business Unit Paper meant that the group posted growth of 20 % during the first quarter, which cannot be transferred to the subsequent quarters. On the basis of business operations during the months April to June, SURTECO is assuming that demand has been consolidated within the framework of organic growth.
While growth in Germany, Europe and Australia proceeded at a moderate pace, Asia enjoyed very positive growth with a rise of 30 %. This reflects the forecasts of the experts at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), who are expecting further bursts of growth in the major Asian economies of China and India.
The Strategic Business Unit Plastics succeeded in increasing sales for the first half year by 7 % compared with 2010 to € 119.8 million (2010: € 112.0 million). Foreign business proved to be the driving force here with an increase of 10 % to € 82.8 million (2010: € 75.6 million). The biggest growth rates were achieved in Europe – without Germany – with +12 % and most importantly in Asia with +24 %. The domestic market posted a slight increase of 2 % to € 37.0 million. Consolidated sales in the SBU Paper at the end of the first half year rose by 16 % to € 91.8 million (2010: € 79.1 million). The Asian market was again the driving force here with a sales increase of 43 %. In Germany, the rest of Europe and in Australia, sales rose in each case by approximately 15 %.
Despite the massive cost burdens, resulting primarily from significant price increases in the cost of materials, SURTECO generated operating earnings (EBITDA) of € 31.8 million during the first half year after generating € 32.0 million in the previous year. The EBITDA margin fell by 1.8 percentage points to 15.0 %. Depreciation and amortization was steady at the level for the previous year. The EBIT margin at 10.0 % was 1.5 percentage points below the equivalent year-earlier value. EBIT reached € 21.1 million after € 21.9 million in 2010. Negative currency effects amounting to € 0.8 million and further impairments required for the share package held by SURTECO in Pfleiderer AG, Neumarkt, amounting to € 3.2 million, impacted negatively on EBT of € 12.6 million (2010: € 18.1 million).
Consolidated net profit amounted to € 8.1 million during the first six months of 2011 compared with € 12.7 million in the previous year. This yielded earnings per share of € 0.73 (2010: € 1.15).
Net debt amounted to € 132.9 million at the end of the first half year (31 December 2010: € 123.2). Net indebtedness (gearing) increased from 58 % to 64 %. The equity ratio of the company rose by 1.3 percentage points to 45.6 %. Despite operating earnings (EBITDA) remaining at the level of the previous year, cash flow from operating activities rose by 28 % to € 11.2 million.
Despite volatile market developments, the course of the SURTECO share price was relatively stable in the first half of 2011. After the price increased significantly during the first quarter and peaked at prices around € 32.00, the SURTECO share ended the first half year at a price of € 27.33. Over a twelve-month perspective, SURTECO demonstrated a gratifying performance with an increase in value of 33.6 %.
SURTECO is assuming slight sales growth in the single-digit percentage range for the business year 2011. SURTECO is engaging in a long-term process of continually improving competitive capability to improve productivity and efficiency in all its businesses. The aim of all these programmes with a proven track record is to achieve sustainable growth in sales and income over the long term.
